World record breaker Steve Edwards

After running no less than 500 marathons, Steve Edwards has reached his goal of running seven consecutive sub 3:30 marathons.

By Rhalou Allerhand

“I’m bruised, battered and tired but very happy to not only win the event but also bring home a world record,” says Steve Edwards, after completing seven marathons in seven days in an average time of 3:22:13, all of which were sub 3:30. The fastest 26.2-miler for the consistent runner was 3:18:37 on the first day.

With a cumulative time of 23:35:35, Edwards, 51, was the overall winner of the Milton Keynes’ event, appropriately called “Weak in the Knees.” Leagues ahead of second-place finisher Jeremy Isaac’s 24:21:33, he was also credited with a world record in the 50-and-over age group.

Edwards had been looking for a new running challenge after achieving his lifelong goal in 2012 of finishing his 500th marathon under 3:30. He has now completed more than 600 marathons, but aims to tip 1,000.

“My wife Teresa and I have been overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity in helping us to raise valuable funds for Kate’s Home Care.” Edwards said of his charitable challenge. “We’ve raised over £5,000 so far and are truly grateful to everyone for their support.”

Despite achieving world record status, the grandfather of three will not be taking a break. He’s currently limbering up for the Brighton Marathon on April 6 and the London Marathon on April 13, and has yet more running goals to crack after that.

“My ultimate ambition is to try and run 1,000 official marathon races in an average finish time of sub 3:30.” He told Runner’s World . “At present I’ve averaged 3:17 for the 630 marathons in total I’ve ran so far. However there’s still a long way to go and a lot will depend on whether I can not only stay fit and healthy but also remain motivated to continue with a disciplined training regime that’s got me this far.”